Earth Day

Well, the official Earth Day's not today, but it will be another pleasant day in the dirt for me. I celebrate these occasions often during the year, especially when weather allows it. And today promises some great opportunities for digging and maybe even mowing some grass.

Though we don't see too many mini lakes from recent rains remaining across our lawn, much of my garden dirt is still pretty gooey. So, that sunshine offensive beating down from above ought to make a delightful difference. I'll be out there with my hoe and rake, doing whatever I can to hurry the drying process.

Would love to stick a few potato eyes in the ground today. Maybe they'll grow. Like a fool, I planted three varieties of lettuce at the very edge of my strawberry patch about a month ago. Fortunate for me, lettuce is pretty durable stuff, even in its infancy. Now that the moisture has dissipated and finally allowed the tiny seedlings some air to breathe, they're actually making a go of it.

'Twould be nice to have them take off and yield some salad fixings by May. That may be wishful thinking, but we're experts at wishful thinking here in North Idaho, where weather seems to always throw a kink in our best-laid plans for seeds to germinate. My attitude is "give it a try. If it works, great; if not, that's par for the course, and I'm used to vegetative failure."

Anyway, today should be a great earth day for me. I'm sure to have black fingernails, more cracked, stained skin and plenty of welcome food for my outdoor soul.

Speaking of food, we had more than enough for our stomachs at yesterday's wonderful birthday party in Plummer. Great visiting, great eats, and great little kids whose birthday united a mix of family and new friends.

Thanks to Laura and Sefo for coordinating a memorable gathering. Happy Sunday to all.